THE AFRICAN PYGMY MOUSE
Scientific name - Mus Minutoids

The African Pygmy mouse is a cousin of your regular domestic mouse, it is also one the smallest members of the Murid rodents (mouse/rat family) who's homeland is throughout Africa south of the Sahara.
As adults, they weigh less than one-quarter of an ounce and are about one & a half inches long. The dorsal coat colour is a brownish/red with the belly being white. Newborn babies are about the size of a large ant.
Pygmy mice are extremely active, primarily during the early evening or late at night. The Pygmies are very social so it is best to keep them in two's or small groups. However, males should be litter mates or introduced before four weeks of age to discourage fighting. If you do not want babies get the same sex - the pygmy mouse is sexually mature at 8 weeks and can have up to six in a litter with new litter coming every 20 days. So be careful you might not be able to find homes for all of those babies. In one year from one pair it is possible to end up with 2 million babies, thanks to children, grandchildren, great grandchildren etc..

Hardwood chip bedding, such as aspen is the best. CareFresh Pet Bedding or Pine bedding will also work as long as it is not dusty. The dust can cause upper respiratory problems. NEVER use cedar shavings, as cedar contains phenols, which can cause severe irritation to a African Pygmy mouse.

ACCESSORIES

Supplying a house for your African Pygmy mouse to sleep in is a good idea, just make sure that the house doesn't have a bottom, otherwise cleaning it is very difficult.
Nesting material should  be supplied for their bed. Soft paper, such as toilet paper and paper towel, torn into strips works well. Shredded paper or fresh hay will also make suitable nest material. Cotton wool and the fluffy hamster bedding are not recommended.
An African Pygmy mouse should have a wheel in its cage to get some exercise on. The wheel should be at least 3" in diameter. The wheel should be of the solid variety, as the African Pygmy mouse could injure itself if its leg falls through the wire wheel. If all that you can get is a wire wheel, then "weave" some heavy card paper (cereal boxes work well) through the wire to make a solid wheel. The card paper will have to be changed once in a while.
Spiny mice need something to chew on. Their teeth are always growing and without something to chew on they will end up with overgrown teeth and they will not be able to eat. Small blocks of softwood and hardwood, cardboard tubes (paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, etc), card paper, etc are great.

HANDLING

Try not to handle an African Pygmy mouse, they are too small and too fast.  If you have to move them the best way is to try to trap them in their house and move the house.  If they get out they are almost impossible to catch.

BUYING AN AFRICAN PYGMY MOUSE

Whether you are buying an African Pygmy mouse from a pet store or a breeder, you should ask questions, even if you know the answers from your own research. This will tell you how knowledgeable they really are. If they don't know what they are talking about, buyer beware! If they don't want to give you any information or want to help you, buyer beware!
Check out their facilities carefully. Look for overcrowding, dirty cages, unhealthy animals, smell the air. If the animals are overcrowded and/or the cages are dirty, be very cautious about buying an African Pygmy mouse. There shouldn't be any sickly animals in sight, any good breeder/pet shop will have a "sick" room for any animals that aren't up to par. If the establishment/breeding facility has a very strong odour, be very careful, even if it looks clean, the smell is coming from somewhere. Any place, that has animals, will have a smell to it. The larger the facility, the stronger the odour. They just can't clean as fast as the animals do their business. But if the odour is overpowering, then there might be something else under the surface, use caution.
Check the health of the animal before you buy it and handle it. If they won't let you handle it before you buy it. They may be hiding something, WATCH OUT! Look for discharge from its eyes and nose, sneezing, wet rear end and firmness of body. If it has any of these conditions or its body appears thin, don't buy it. Don't even consider another African Pygmy mouse from the same cage as the other African Pygmy mice may also have the same problems. The African Pygmy mouse you choose should be bright eyed and interested in what is going on without being too nervous. There eyes and nose should be clear, the rear end dry and the body firm to the touch.
If possible, check references. Referrals from other satisfied customers will tell you a lot about that breeder's/pet shop's quality of animals, their care and concern for the animals well-being, their "customer service" and how much information they are willing to share.

DIET

Diet consist of small seeds so give them a canary/finch mix. Every few days you can offer them a piece of spray millet, a rodent block, small piece of fresh fruit/vegetables. As a treat one can also offer them mealworms. Don’t forget fresh water daily , use a small lid or bowl for their water( water bottles are difficult for them to drink from and deep dishes they can drown in). One can also add a good multi-vitamin to their water.